THE HORSE IN BRITAIN 535 



them libraries, and among other things interesting manuscripts on equi- 

 tation and the treatment of horses, and these have been handed down to 

 us either directly or through the medium of Spanish literature. On the 

 departure of the Moors most of their property was confiscated. Their 

 liorses, from which neither love nor money would part them, were seized 

 or sold for a tenth of their value. These remained in Spain, and from 

 Spain many of their descendants were distributed over Europe, and soon 

 after found their way into England. 



THE HORSE IN BRITAIN 



Before the commencement of the Christian era Rome, which had 

 become "mistress of the world", extended her conquests in Asia and in 

 Africa, and ultimately reached the shores of Great Britain. The landing 

 of Csesar was hotly opposed by the Britons with a strong force of 

 cavalry, which they furiously drove between the ranks of the enemy, 

 discharging their darts, as they rushed along, with such dexterity as to 

 inflict considerable loss on the invaders. In his account of the invasion 

 of Britain, Caesar writes : " When they engaged the horse they left 

 their chariots to fight on foot, their charioteers in the meantime re- 

 tiring and placing themselves so that their masters, if overpowered by 

 numbers, might readily find them and have an easy retreat. By this 

 manner of fighting, they had Ijoth the speed of the horse and the 

 steadiness of the foot, and they were by daily practice so expert that 

 they could stop their horses on a steep descent, though in full career, 

 turn tliem in a narrow compass, run along the pole, sit upon the yoke, 

 and from thence, with incredible quickness, return to their chariots." 

 This is the first historical account we have of the existence of horses in 

 Britain. Whether these animals were indigenous to the soil, or whether 

 tliey were descendants of horses imported liy other nations, such as the 

 Phoenicians who, it is said, traded with the Britons as early as the Trojan 

 war, cannot be ascertained. Neither are we able to discover their exact 

 type; we only know that they were small. As the horse-shoes found 

 in Roman and in Saxon tumuli were only of a size sufficient to fit 

 small hoofs, and as the size of the shoe indicates to a gi'eat extent 

 the size of the animal whose foot during life it had protected, it is 

 reasonable to assume that the original breeds of British horses were 

 small. In all northern countries of Europe the indigenous equine races 

 have always been represented by diminutive breeds of ponies. The 

 domestication of the horse has led to his improvement, and the knowledge 

 of man has assisted in securing his progressive development, especially 



